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Vol. 62 No. 22
TDH to Pilot Test the Pharmacy Inventory Control System
Starting in November 2002, the Texas
Department of Health (TDH) Public
Health Region (PHR) 6/5S headquarters
(Houston) will conduct a pilot test of the
Pharmacy Inventory Control System
(PICS), a newly developed Internet-
based system that replaces one which
has been in operation for 20 years.
Whereas the current inventory system
has been accessible only by TDH
employees, PICS will be available to
any health care provider in Texas who
receives drugs or vaccines from or
managed by TDH. Users will thus
include health professionals in local,
regional, and state health departments;
hospitals; and private practice.
Compared with the current inventory
system, PICS provides many user
benefits: workload reduction , job
quality improvements, management
tool improvements, and potential cost
savings. Specifically, PICS will offer
automatic preparation of vaccine
inventory (C-33) and shots administered
reports (C-5), data sharing between
systems, near-real-time visibility of all
inventories, and availability of drug
usage data.
To maximize potential benefits, the TDH
Central Office and PHR headquarters,
local health departments, and private
providers will need to update information
on drug and vaccine usage. TDH and
local health departments will support
PICS with training assistance, control
access, and help spread PICS usage
within their areas. The higher the usage
of PICS, the lower the need for paper
reports, faxes, and telephone calls.
Duplicate data keyed into into auto-
mated systems also will be minimized.
PICS design is based on information
gathered from 200 public and private
health care providers and staff (from all
11 PHRs) during a 2000 feasibility study
and 2001 requirements analysis effort.
The PICS joint development team, com-
posed of staff from the TDH Pharmacy
and from Northrop Grumman Informa-
tion Technology, visited the Houston
PHR 6/5S office in August 2002 to
coordinate the PICS pilot test. Training
of staff who will participate in the pilot
test will occur in early November.
During the pilot test, health care
providers in the field will test PICS core
functionality and its training materials,
which are based on the concept of the
train-the-trainers approach. Staff in
PHR 6/5S and 2 local health depart-
ments (Galveston County and the City
of Beaumont) will learn to be PICS
trainers during pilot test training by the
PICS team. The staff in training will
include program managers and subject
matter experts (SMEs) who are specialists
in public health programs that focus on
immunization, tuberculosis elimination,
sexually transmitted disease prevention,
and women's health. The PICS Team
will also train TDH managers in the
Refugee Screening, Hansen's Disease,
and Neural Tube Defects Recurrence
Prevention programs. These trainers
will then teach others how to provide
instruction in the fundamentals of PICS
and how to train new instructors.
Once the pilot test is completed,
appropriate revisions will be made.
January 2003 is the starting date for
general implementation of PICS
throughout Texas. The ultimate goal
for PICS is to provide near real time
visibility of all drugs and vaccines in
the system. In terms of readiness for
potential acts of bioterrorism, this
capability is essential.
For further information about PICS,
contact Gene Trautmann, MS/CS, TDH
PICS Project Manager, by phone at
512/536-7860 or 512/458-7677, or by
e-mail at gene.traumann@tdh.state.tx.us.
DPN
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